Are you a list writer? I sure am. I would much rather put details on paper than crowd my mind with endless particulars and minutiae. I also know that I will stick to the task at hand if I’ve written myself a list or cheat sheet of what really needs to get done.
One of the most important lists that we have in our house is our grocery list. It’s on a magnetized pad of paper stuck to the refrigerator, and it’s available to the family for additions. In fact, if you’re the one who finishes up a staple food item in the house, it’s your obligation to put it on the list.
The list serves as a reminder of what we need to buy, and keeps our choices on track when we’re at the store. I’ve always believed that if you try to shop from memory, you are more likely to be a mark for the marketing and advertising geniuses that work for the food manufacturers. If you don’t have a mission to fulfill, you linger indecisively, and open a window of opportunity for those who could probably sell you swampland in Florida.
I was overjoyed the other day to read that someone had actually done research to back up my assumption. The question they asked was: "do shopping lists promote or prevent healthy choices?" Published in the Journal of Consumer Research, scientists from Duke, UCLA and the University of Florida found that having to come up with options from memory led to more impulsive decisions when compared to those who shopped with a list.
According to the authors: “The observed results are consistent with the notion that memory-based choices are guided relatively more by feeling-based considerations (say an urge for tasty food), whereas stimulus-based choices are guided relatively more by cognitive or deliberation-based considerations (say, the need to be on a diet).”
So any list that you make, whether it’s your chores or errands for the day or your grocery list, will help you stay on track. You’ll find The Good Mood Diet shopping list in Chapter 4, along with lists for other ways to make your kitchen and your cooking “good mood” friendly.
Yours in a Good Mood,
Dr. Susan Kleiner